Anthony sat up straight in his chair. “How the hell—”
“The closer you hold a secret, the tastier it becomes.” Great. Now he was thinking about Ben again. “I told you, no one is immune to office gossip.”
Anthony waved his hand in the air as he sneered. “I’m sending you some preliminary info on a few buildings Rachel is interested in. I need you to review the plans and narrow the list of options.”
“How much time do I have?”
“She’s got six buildings on her short list. She’s looking to have a contract signed within the next two to three months.”
Bull nodded. That gave him enough time to review and schedule a site visit to a few locations for an on-site assessment if necessary.
“Let me know as you narrow the list so I know when a location is out of consideration,” Anthony said.
They discussed a few additional details on the site assessments and then disconnected the call.
Bull leaned back and spun his chair around, turning to face the window. The peacefulness of the ocean view settled the jitter in his gut. He imagined the sound of the waves crashing and the seagulls squawking overhead. He could almost smell the salt in the air and scent of suntan lotion.
He blew out a heavy breath, recalling last night’s tub confessional. Ben hadn’t realized his question would pour salt in the wound that hadn’t healed. Regardless, he had responded the only way he could…with honesty. Anything less would have been hypocritical considering it was the one thing he had asked of Ben in return. He hadn’t wanted to give too many details. Technically, he couldn’t, but he hadn’t wanted to darken Ben’s spirit with anything from his past.
The last mission had left a mark on him. His team had successfully completed their task and had managed to achieve the goal others had tried for years. An achievement worthy of special commendations on his service record. But he couldn’t forget the pain-filled scream that had echoed in the air after they had left the compound. That one shrilling scream had haunted him for years, knowing he had played a role in causing that deep-rooted pain.
Glancing down, Bull fisted his shaking hands. Many of his fellow brothers-in-arms battled with some form of PTSD from their time in service. Trauma they had to cope with and manage.
This was his.
He had seen enough violence to last this lifetime and the next. So much death and none of it peaceful or painless. He screwed his eyes shut, willing the images flipping through his mind to vanish. He had moved on the only way he could, by channeling his efforts into security and protecting others.
He slowly exhaled a deep breath and opened his eyes, focusing on the view before him. He couldn’t dwell on it. Going down that rabbit hole never ended well.
He recalled another part of their time last night.
He reached for his phone and swiped at the screen, speed dialing a familiar number.
“What’s up?” Aidan answered on the second ring.
“I know what you did.”
“You’re going to have to narrow that down.”
“Lucky Chucky.” There was far too much silence on the line for Aidan to deny. “I want to know why.”
A deep sigh sounded through the speaker. “Ben’s too nice. I couldn’t risk him getting out of there with a twisted brain like my future brother-in-law.”
Bull chuckled. “You love your future brother-in-law.”
“As much as anyone loves a painful growth they can’t remove.”
“Liar.” He smiled, imagining Aidan rolling his eyes.
“I’m the one who found Ben’s sister and reunited them. I’m the idiot who thought she was cool. Do you know…I went to see her after he was arrested. I told her what happened. She said she knew he would screw up again.” Aidan sighed. “I figured she was just pissed off and it would eventually fade. I thought it would take her a while to accept it, but I assumed she would go see him after a while.”
“You had no reason to think otherwise. She’s his family.”
“Pffft. You saw how that turned out.”
“Lucky Chucky was your best solution?” He rubbed his eyes. He loved his friend, but sometimes, he really…wondered.
“Fuck you. I didn’t want anything happening to Ben. Lucky was the most feared inmate there. Had to be him. Don’t hate on me for doing something nice.”
“I don’t think I want to know what you bartered for Ben’s safety.”
“I had to deliver a cat.”
“That’s…it?”
“Bubbles was a mean son of a bitch. Lucky wanted his ex to have it.”